


Finding Home

by LilyTheWanderer



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Actors, Alternate Universe - Military, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Smut, F/M, Friends to Enemies, POV Rey (Star Wars), Slow Burn, Touch-Starved
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2020-04-09
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:26:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23420152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilyTheWanderer/pseuds/LilyTheWanderer
Summary: He is almost... studying her, intently, as she lets her gaze dip lower to his broad chest, every curve of muscle visible though a plain black t-shirt... but that would be impossible. Because she's just her. Plain old garden-variety Rey.Fuck, he's attractive.She snaps her eyes back to his, and smiles her trademark, professional, business-like Rey smile as best as she can. (She would realize, later, that she didn't give him her trademark smile at all, but rather something different. It is impossible to look athimthe way she looks at everybody else.)
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 5
Kudos: 33





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey Ao3!  
> First time writing in a while.  
> Let me know what you think - messages welcome.
> 
> Plan is to update this every few days :)
> 
> I love these babies.  
> Ben Solo is bae.  
> That shall be all.
> 
> Also - this is un-beta'd. Just FYI.  
> Tags will be updated as we go.

'Hey Ack, how are you?' Rey waves a small hello to the flat-nosed man in his late fifties, struggling with a stage light on the end of a long pole as she speed-walks past him. She squeezes past a large clothing rack and moves to start down the busy corridor.

He stops, looks her up and down, huffs once, and pushes his red-rimmed thick glasses back up his nose.

'Morning kid, you're just in time-' Ack gets cut off as the intern behind him (Also known as Finn - roommate and snack-stealer) who is trying his best to help, presses a button on the pole that collapses the light with a bang as it folds in on itself.

'Hey, peanut...' he grimaces, but sends a smirk her way after Ack's back is turned. She stifles a laugh.

'What the hell??? Fuckin' millennials...' Ack's voice trails off as she catches Finn's eye with a twinkle and starts to make her way off again.

She steps over discarded costumes, squeezes her way around stressed-out scriptwriters, ducks under staging and eventually pushes the heavy purple curtain aside at the end of the corridor to reveal the empty mainstage of Studio B, currently displaying a large red neon sign reading 'Poe Dameron Live!' on the back wall.

Standing in the silence for a moment, she catches her breath and double-checks the time on her battered iPhone 6. Blowing a piece of tousled brown hair from her mouth, Rey straightens her stripy cropped tee, adjusts her mom jeans (ignores the stains on her white converse) and decides to give up on her hair that is currently falling in wispy curls out of the three-bun hairstyle she shoved it in an hour earlier. Not that it particularly matters to her, of course, but she always liked to look at least presentable in front of guests. There had been that one time with Leonardo DiCaprio and the grease smudges she had left across her face from a long session tinkering with her particularly stubborn-but-trustworthy rust-bucket of a 2001 Falcon II, and - yeah... that hadn't been good. Well, it wasn't her fault that everyone looked at you as if you had personally insulted them if you didn't drive in LA.

She calmly walks towards the door nestled into the stage right corner of the audience seating area, and turns the handle, ready to start her last day on the job.

'Well hey! Look who it is!' A loud voice greets her from in front of the nearest of two makeup chairs, set up in front of a large rectangular mirror lined with glowing light-bulbs.

'Hey Poe!' Rey laughs, and sets her phone down on the counter.

The nation's favorite Guatemalan (as he so often likes to proclaim himself) stands in the middle of the small room attempting to pull on the orange sweater and white sleeveless puffer jacket that the wardrobe Gods have deemed suitable for the sketch being filmed today. She wrinkles her nose.

He shakes his head (bouncing his annoyingly shiny hair that always seems to look good before she so much as runs a comb through it) and says: 'What happened to you this morning? Looks like someone ran here!'

'I'm right on time! Now - sit down, shut up, hold this brush for me and then maybe, just maybe, I won't send you out there looking like an idiot!' She pauses her assault on a chest of drawers behind the door to pass him a long thin makeup brush and a tub of powder.

He feigns shock: 'But i'm your boss, you can't speak to me like that!'

'You're right. No amount of foundation could ever disguise the idiot in you, flyboy.'

Despite Poe technically being Rey's superior, they had always had more of a brother-sister relationship. They didn't hang out much outside of work though, apart from that one time he had gotten his car impounded. Instead of calling his assistant (he had said he was too embarrassed to call them twice in the same week for the same reason) he had called her and asked for the keys to her Falcon (and begged her to dog-sit his spaniel BeeBee for the night - _please, please Rey, I don't trust anyone else with him!_ ). She had received her keys back the next day, along with instructions from a hungover Poe to take the morning off from work and a sleepy apology for the - not one - but TWO scratches along the side of the Falcon and a flat tire. When she had seen him that afternoon, there had been a heated exchange of:

'What have you done to the Falcon?!?'

'What have you done to my dog??' (In reference to a passed out BB, in a food coma from one too many treats.)

'Well, I wouldn't have had to look after him if you hadn't gone out to do whatever shifty stuff you got up to last night!'

He had went unnaturally quiet and narrowed his eyes to slits. 'A guy's gotta have some secrets. Also, on a side-note, I hear that cute ( _and very non-straight_ ) new production intern is a roommate of yours....'

Rey wasn't sore about it anymore though. Maybe just a little.

'Sheesh, yes ma'am...' Poe sidesteps from the middle of the small room and plops down onto the chair with way too much enthusiasm than anyone should ever have at 8am. As he moves from the centre of the room, she catches a large, dark shape taking up space in the second chair from the corner of her eye. Rey's head whips round in surprise. She had checked the schedule, hadn't she? There weren't any last minute changes? She stands up from her crouch in front of the supply drawers and comes face to face with... _._

'Ben Solo! Meet Rey. Rey, this is Ben, our guest for tomorrow's show! Not that you don't know who he is anyway, his face is on every billboard from here to Canada...' Poe trails off as he pulls out his phone and scrolls through Instagram.

She gets her trademark, business-as-usual, 'professional Rey' smile ready, but as she begins to take him in she can't help but let her lips part slightly. When she sees him, his full mouth is still turned up slightly in response to Rey and Poe's back-and-forth as he looks down at the table in front of the mirror absent-mindedly. He looks up at her ( _and she swears, though she can't be right, that he does an almost imperceptible double take_ ) and furrows his brows. His deep brown eyes run over her, sucking her into them, and she notices the way one of his strong forearms carries a large hand up and over to sweep back some stray strands of his wavy, luscious black hair. His face is dotted with the most beautiful constellations of moles and she can see hints of a pair of red-tipped ears peeking out from the curtain of his locks. He is almost... studying her, intently, as she lets her gaze dip lower to his broad chest, every curve of muscle visible though a plain black t-shirt... but that would be impossible. Because she's just her. Plain old Rey.

_Fuck_ , he's attractive.

She snaps her eyes back to his, and smiles her business Rey smile as best as she can. (She would realize, later, that she didn't give him her trademark smile at all, but rather something different. It is impossible to look at _him_ the way she looks at everybody else.)

'Mr Solo, of course! I'm sorry for not saying hello - I didn't have you on my schedule until later...'

He clears his throat, seeming to snap himself out of something, and waves a hand in the air dismissively, 'Hello - it's quite alright, I arrived a little earlier and decided to drop by.'

Jesus, _his voice_.

Poe snorts. 'Always ahead of schedule, Solo. You know, i've known this guy's family since high school - this is LA after all, and he's never been late once. For anything. Like, not even when that fat kid in our gym class had his Bar Mitzvah in a Chuck E. Cheese, remember that, Ben?'

Ben clearly does ' _remember that_ ', but chooses to remain silent, staring at the table again, seeming almost embarrassed at being called out on this aspect of his personality.

Poe goes back to his Instagram.

'Okay,' Rey takes a breath and forces herself to begin. 'So I guess we'll get started then, if you guys are ready? Poe, you're rehearsing the opening monologue first this morning, before filming your sketch with our guest here - so let me just get you done and dusted quickly so you can get going.'

'Fine by me, shweetheart.' Poe drawls.

Rey nods. She takes a deep breath in and out, and begins to prep his face with a cleanser on a pad, focusing in completely on her work. She's always enjoyed the routine of it all, even if it wasn't exactly what she had wanted to do with her career. At least now - that was all changing.

'So Ben, you know it's Rey's last day? Miss 'Multi-Talented' here is leaving us. For the east coast. Our girl's finally putting that degree of hers to use - she's managed to get her big break.' Poe somehow manages to punctuate the end of his sentence with perfect jazz hands and still scroll through his phone at the same time. 'Been cast in the Broadway revival of 'Burn This' - do you know it?'

Ben looks up from the table in surprise at her, his face lighting up a little. 'Burn This? Yeah, yeah I have. I love the characters - I got to do it once, back in drama school, but I think I was a little young for the part. Who's the director?'

Rey successfully manages to control her blush at the attention. 'It's Rian Johnson - I mean, it's definitely nothing as big as you've probably done, but I have just always loved his work. If there's one person I have always wanted to work with, it would be him, you know? Just the care and attention he puts into every interaction, like, have you seen that scene breakdown interview he did for Vanity Fair for-'

'Knives Out?' Ben shoots in, his face animated. 'Yeah, i'm a big fan of his work.'

'Yeah. Anyway, i'm rambling, i'm sorry, I don't mean to bore.' Rey shyly backtracks.

'No, no, I think it's interesting... so wait, how did you get the part?'

They are interrupted by Poe rising from his chair dramatically as Rey puts a final dusting of powder on his face. 'She beat Mr Johnson into submission. Being the jewel of Great Britain that she is, Rey used to serve in the Royal Infantry before drama school. Kinda like your background, actually. I reckon any director worth their salt should be scared of her talent.' he says, proudly.

'You were.. in the military too?' Ben says, unreadable.

Rey laughs quickly and quietly, not looking at Ben, and gives Poe a once-over of hairspray. He turns at the last minute, opening his mouth to make another smart comment, and ends up with a mouthful of product.

'I know you're still angry about that Falcon incident, but do you really have to resort to murder? Jesus, woman!' he splutters, flailing about.

'Stop! You're all finished. Get out of my workspace, you're infecting it with all your stupid!' She herds him towards the door, still muttering under his breath.

He yells in one last quip before she slams the door after him. 'Save yourself, Ben!'

The noise of the door shutting echoes in the empty room, as Rey turns around, seeing Ben properly for the first time in a few minutes.

He looks at her, intently. She sees, for the first time, a glint of weariness about him - the kind you get from having lived through pain. Rey would know. She sees it in the way his broad shoulders carry his head, in the way his expression is carefully guarded despite his inquisitive stare. But his eyes - his eyes are a different story. They are soft. Haunted, but hopeful, even.

Rey swallows, suddenly aware of her worn out t-shirt, and says: 'I didn't, you know. I mean - beat it out of him. Rian Johnson, that is.'

'No?'

She brushes a stray hair out of her face, and moves to gather supplies for his stage make-up - all the while feeling his burning stare following her.

'And what did you do, then?'

'I got lucky.' She says. 'I visited New York last winter to see an old friend. We ran into someone I knew a little from drama school and he offered me an audition as a favor - he's a big shot casting director in New York. Had Fiji water in his office and everything.'

She looks back at Ben from her crouch in front of the supply drawers during that last sentence, trying to gauge his reaction to her humor, given that the corners of his mouth have remained in a distinctly neutral position throughout their entire interaction so far. Her eyes travel down, down his built arms, to where he is currently screwing the cap back on a bottle of... Fiji water. Shit. Her eyes travel back up. She swallows again. The corners of his mouth twitch upwards, slightly ( _Aha!_ ).

'Continue.' he smirks, almost imperceptibly.

'Rian and I just clicked straight away. We work in the same kind of headspace, I think. He's spent a lot of time filming at Pinewood Studios in London, near where I grew up.'

Inexplicably, she carries on. 'I didn't go very far afterwards - I went to the Central School of Speech and Drama, in London? After I finished my service in the Army... I.. I just needed an outlet, you know? I had gone straight into the forces from high school, for... reasons... and I needed to be able to process it all. I auditioned on a whim and got in. I was twenty-one then. Three years of acting school, and then this past year and a half has been a whirlwind of... a job offer to work for Poe and gain set experience, visa applications and then trying to remain employed whilst also looking for roles. Make-up was always fun for me, and I love it here - it's like a family, but...' she trails off, wistfully, and then promptly turns a bright shade of red at how open she is being with this guy after knowing him all of ten minutes.

She pulls up a chair to set directly in front of him, nervous as she is, and lifts a brush to his cheek to begin her work. _His skin is so smooth and his adam's apple bobs as he swallows-_ NOPE! She can do this. She is the always professional, business-like Rey Jackson, who always has her shit together.

'Central, huh?' He raises an eyebrow. 'Impressive.'

'I'm sorry.' She apologizes. I'm not used to talking about myself this much - I really _must_ be boring you now.. I don't know why i'm telling you all of this.'

'You shouldn't undersell yourself.' he says sincerely as he frowns, blowing a piece of his hair away from the path of her brush. _Cute_. 'It seems like you've achieved a lot.'

She furrows her eyebrows, focusing in on her task. He's just being nice.  
  


'What about you? What's your story?' She asks.

He stares at her again. Now it's his turn to 'furrow his brows'.

'I don't google guests before I meet them - I figure it's kinda creepy. I don't really know much about you. '

'Wait, you don't?'

'Should I?' she shoots back.

He smiles. An accidental smile. It's pure, and it seems rare. 'No. It's refreshing, actually.'

'I'm not sure you would want to get to know me anyway,' he continues. 'I've been told it's too much work.'

He means it as a joke, and she thinks he doesn't realize, but he says it with a tiny twinge of sadness. His guarded facade has slipped for a millisecond. In front of her, of all people. She tries not to think about what this means too much.

'Well, don't you think that's my choice?' she replies, boldly.

He keeps smiling - a small smile, but genuine.

'I bet you have a killer origin story. I bet it's better than Wolverine's.'

' _Better than Wolverine's,'_ he echoes. 'I like your accent.'

She _definitely_ doesn't think about what that means.

When she doesn't reply, he hums and then starts: 'Well, I hate to come up short. Grew up in Beverly Hills. Classic rich kid trash. When I turned 18, I kind of.. lost it. Decided I had to make my own way and so I went in for the Marines. Did two tours in Iraq. Three years in altogether, same as you. I was always so interested in people, and what made them tick - the Marines taught me a lot about what people - including myself - are capable of under pressure. I got to know the human psyche better than most.' He pauses, thinking.

'So when I got out, I just had this need to channel all that into something - and so I applied to Juilliard. Sorted my brain out... to an extent at least... and i've been working for 6 years ever since graduation on some thing or another. Moved to New York and never looked back.'

He shifts his focus back to her, his entire torso turning in his chair to face her. 'I've never met anyone with the same background as me before. It makes me wonder.'

She gives his forehead a final pat with a cotton pad, and checks over his captivating features once more. _The same background_. If only he knew. 'Wonder about what?' The words leave her mouth a little breathier than intended.

'Do you think, that there's a chance at normal life for people like us? After the things we've done? Do you think that the release of creativity will always be enough to balance it out?' he says, slowly, measured.

Well, there you go. He's only gone and put a name to the elephant in her past. She ponders for a moment, looking down, before returning her gaze to his. She sticks her chin out defiantly.

'Not always. But with time, and love, I believe it is possible.'

His features are so open now, eyes soft as he takes her in, mouth open in what looks like an expression that Rey has only seen directed towards other people, and precious things - awe. She's wrong though. It can't be. She's just your average, garden-variety Rey.

Suddenly, a shrill tannoy blasts through the air between them, calling for Rey's presence in the background actors' dressing room ( _Jackson to Room 12, Jackson to Room 12_ ).

They both jump slightly as Rey reluctantly looks away and slides out of her seat, followed by Ben.

She turns the handle of the dressing room door, and moves to stands in the doorway.

'Well Mr. Solo, it's been a pleasure. One of our Assistant Directors should be along to collect you from this room soon, so i'll leave you to it. Thanks for.. the conversation. It's been a great last day.'

He doesn't say anything, just looks at her and smiles, softly, and so she turns to leave.

Before she realizes what is happening, she feels a warm, soft, large hand slide gently to curl around her forearm to catch her, stopping her from leaving. She turns to face him and her stomach flutters. All of her breath leaves her body as she feels his skin against hers. It _burns_.

'Call me Ben. Please.'

She realizes that she is staring at where his hand is wrapped around just above her wrist, and she looks up into his molten brown eyes. If she didn't know better, she'd say that he was studying her again. His lips are parted slightly and he works his jaw as he looks almost confused at his own outburst. They are very close to each other now.

'Ben.' she tests out, softly. She waits a beat, then slips her arm out of his. It pains her to do it, but she has to. She doesn't want to make him uncomfortable. Doesn't want to be too much. Nobody wants her that way, anyway.

'I guess... i'll see you around.' She says, still looking into his eyes.

He turns up the corners of his mouth again, a small, sad smile, and steps back.

'See you around, Rey.'

She turns, ripping herself away, and walks through the doorway.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lollllll remember when I was all like 'This fic will be updated every few days!' and here we are a week and a half later. Sorry, my dudes. CO-VID 19 key worker struggles.
> 
> I also have some University work to finish so I guess the next chapter will be up early next week and then I can give this fic my full attention and update every few days :)
> 
> Slightly transitional chapter here for y'all, as always all interaction/feedback is welcomed/encouraged.
> 
> Oh, also! I have a plan for this now. It shall not be revealed though. Makes it less special.
> 
> Thankyou for all of your wonderful comments and bookmarks. You are amazing.
> 
> Peace.

'Is that everything?' Finn yells from the street up to the window of their brown-brick second-floor apartment in Downtown LA. He stands, squinting in the sun, shielding his forehead with one hand and clutching a large black duffle bag against his chest with the other. Rey leans over the kitchen sink and out of the window, trying not to let the fabric of her shorts catch on the rough edge of the frame ( _Fucking Watto_ , the building manager _._ The guy always used any excuse he could not to complete a repair).

'Yep! Just a sec!' She ducks her head back in, looking around the decent-sized space. It was alright, nothing incredibly special - and nothing too terrible either, but it had been home. It had been her first real escape. Of course, there had been student dorms in London after she had moved out from... well, when she went to University, but this apartment had really felt like _hers_. _Hers_ and Finn's, that was. And here she was, watching the morning sun shine through onto their well-loved kitchen table, about to leave it all behind. About to leave one of her closest friends.

It hadn't been easy - finding her place in LA, after moving halfway across the world. Her friend Rose, from acting school, had 'mothered' her through it, offering some kind of relief from being thrust into the world without letting her brain catch-up to what she was doing. Rose Tico was a no-nonsense 5'2" Vietnamese-American girl with a ' _you-fuck-with-me-and-i'll-come-round-your-house-and-burn-it-down-at-2am_ ' attitude. As you could probably tell, this made for a strange combination, and so as two of the wild cards admitted in their year at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, they had made fast friends. To top it all off, she also harbored a fiercely loyal kindness towards Rey that she wasn't sure what she had done to deserve. Rose had studied on the stage production track, and so had made the move to New York almost immediately after graduating. She didn't need a visa to work in the US, after all, and she had received an offer of work as a stage manager, straight from her showcase ( _lucky for some,_ Rey thinks). Rose had introduced her to her old high-school friend Finn over video-chat the day after she was invited to work for Poe - and the rest, as they say, is history.

Rey lets out a breath, standing in the silence, and abruptly stops herself from reminiscing. All good things come to an end. Including her time here, with Finn. That's just life. Better to get on with it and block it all out. It is, quite frankly, a ridiculous thought, that she would ever find some semblance of a permanent home or family. For others maybe, but not for her. She is Rey _fucking_ Jackson and she doesn't need anyone.

Not that the offers were pouring in anyway.

She thinks of her last day at work the week before, and of a burning hand closed around her arm and molten chocolate eyes and - _stop!_ It's not like she'd ever see him again anyway. It's not like there was even _a reason_ for her to want to see him again.

She scoops up her last remaining bag, walks straight through their Finn's living room without looking around and steps through the open door of the apartment, letting it swing shut behind her. She trudges down the faded-but-clean carpeted hallway, and takes the steps, painstakingly, one at a time down to the ground floor. By the time she bursts through the doors and into the morning sun to face Finn, her eyes are glassed over.

_She isn't crying, she isn't crying, she isn't crying -_

He takes one look at her and drops the duffle bag he is holding with a muffled _thump_ on the sidewalk. 'Oh, peanut...'

Rey takes one step forward, only to be caught and enveloped in a tight bear hug against Finn's shoulder.

She actually isn't crying. She congratulates herself on her learned control, silently. One less person to show her weakness to.

But, moments like this are so few and far between for her, of being held and feeling safe - if only for a minute. She lets herself melt into him. Her hands wrap round his back, and it's a silent _thank-you_ from her to him.

_Thank you_ \- for making me carbonara every Wednesday night. For letting me make you terrible fajitas every Thursday night.

_Thank you_ \- for giving me a glimpse of belonging, for making me feel cared for, for letting me love you as if you were my brother and for this physical touch right now.

_Thank you_ \- for being my friend.

Eventually, he pulls away from her, still holding her elbows. He smiles, making a show of searching her face, his own eyes now displaying a hint of glassiness.

'Neither of us are dying, you know. I'll still see you - you can come to visit me, or i'll come to visit you, and we can Skype....' he trails off.

'I know.' Rey smiles slightly.

He sighs, stepping back. 'You know.. it's okay to feel things. You can be sad to leave, and.. you can look forward to things, to the future - and enjoy the experience, without waiting for it to end. Just, promise me, Rey. Promise me that you'll try in New York. It'll be hard, but you can do it. Just, have hope? Hope for more?'

That does it for her. A single tear rolls down her left cheek. 'I promise.' she says. And she thinks she might mean it.

There is a beat of silence and then they both turn as her questionable-looking Uber driver screeches round the corner and pulls up to the edge of the sidewalk, blaring 'ska' music from the stereo. The window cranks down.

'Uber for Jackson?'

Rey wipes her face and nods in his direction, then smirks at Finn. He smirks back and hands her the second duffle bag he had dropped onto the sidewalk earlier. A drop of sweat begins to run down his hairline and across his dark skin. It was starting to warm up quickly. The unrelenting west-coast dry heat was something she certainly wouldn't miss.

'Hey, chin up, peanut.' she breaks the silence. ' _Someone_ has to make sure Poe doesn't burn the set down. That's why I got you that internship in the first place. You're the only one I trust with that idiot of a man!'

'Yeah... about that, he's actually kinda cute, don't you think?'

'Ahh!' Rey mock grimaces and attempts to stick her fingers in her ears whilst still juggling her bags as she shifts towards the Uber. 'I don't need to hear about that.'

Finn just laughs at her.

'But hey,' she continues, managing to reach into the pocket of her shorts. 'If anything ever does come of it... no making out in the Falcon.'

She tosses the set of car keys she had been carefully hiding through the air, and Finn leans to catch them.

He gapes at her, and back at the keys, and back at her again. 'Wha-'

'Treat her right.' Rey drawls, in a much-perfected Southern accent. 'Now you'll never be judged again for not driving in this city.'

'I'm honored. I vow to carry on the tradition of our Saturday adventures with the upmost hilarity.' he solemnly swears, hand over his heart. 'Seriously Rey, I know how much you love that thing. Thankyou.'

'Thank- _you_ , Finn.' She says, face crumpling slightly again. She looks up at the tail end of the sunrise showing over the houses on the rest of the street, and finds it in her to smile - unforced, this time. 'Goodbye.'

He nods at her, letting her know that it's alright to let go, for now.

She yanks open the door of her Uber, throws her bags inside, and bundles herself inside after them. The door slams shut, and the driver rasps out: 'LAX airport, is that right?'

'Yes, that's right.' she says, as he starts his engine and begins to drive.

She watches Finn waving to her on the sidewalk, and she keeps staring in his direction long after he disappears from view.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Rey steps through the sliding glass doors into the arrivals lounge of JFK airport - which happens to be in, she can hardly remind herself, _NYC, New York_. She takes a deep breath and scans the room.

Nothing much had changed. It had been almost eight whole months since she had been here in January last, to visit Rose and to shoot for a short film she had managed to successfully book by herself. ' _The Huntress_ ', unfortunately, was still unreleased. The director, Lor San Tekka, was waiting until just before awards season, so that the film would still be fresh in the mind of the industry. Not that they were likely to go far anyway. Still, the trip had earned her a meeting with _The_ Lando Calrissian, the most well-connected casting director on the east coast. Rey and Rose had been hanging out at a bar in Soho after a particularly strenuous day of shooting, when they had been approached by a caped African-American man covered head to toe in velvet. It was only after Rose had nudged her arm that she had recognised him as one of their guest lecturers in 'Industry Practice' from the year prior.

He had stridden over as he spoke with a booming voice: 'Hey, I remember you guys! Rose Tico and...Rey Jackson, right? I saw your showcase performance as Ophelia last year - some good stuff going on.'

Rose had giggled, setting her drink down with a 'clink' and had answered (surprisingly coherently, for five drinks in) on Rey's behalf. 'Mr Calrissian! What a small world! It's wonderful to see you again. Yes, Rey's in quite the demand - in fact, she's just wrapped today on a short film with one of the most promising new directors...'

Nothing could have been further from the truth, but Rey had given Rose a grateful smile nonetheless and had gingerly taken another sip of her martini.

Flashing back to the present, she stands in the vast, almost-empty lounge in the fading light of a Tuesday evening, about to start preparations for the biggest role she's ever had. She feels the anticipation rise up in her chest like bubbles, and after remembering her promise to Finn, doesn't make an attempt to quash the feeling down for once.

Rey notices two things - firstly, that it's raining heavily outside in the fading light ( _Raining! Actual water from the heavens! Just like London!_ ). Secondly, she finds that the moment she slumps her bags down onto the floor and slides into a row of metal seats, she lifts her head and comes face-to-face with _him_. _Ben Solo_. Or, a massive floor-to-ceiling light-up billboard of his face and torso, that is.

She startles a little, causing the businessman sitting a few seats down from her to look up from his paper with a frown, and she composes herself quickly. She moves to pull her phone out to text Finn. She wasn't going to look at the billboard. Definitely not. Nope. Why would she?

It takes exactly 4 minutes and 26 seconds before her resolve fails and she exhales, looking around before sliding her phone back into the pocket of her leather jacket. Her eyes land on the advertisement covering the wall in front of her. It shows a black-and-white Ben, from the waist up, against a stark white background. He is looking away from the camera into the distance, face inexpressive, wearing a sharply tailored suit, as he brings a hand through his hair. _She'd seen him do that before,_ she thinks before she can stop herself. A lock of hair is falling slightly over his forehead, as his wrist showcases an aesthetic-looking watch with a leather strap - _Gentlemen's Own_ , the billboard reads. His jawline accentuates his dark features, drawing her eyes to his full mouth - and she can almost see him coming to life now and stepping out of the wall. _He looks good._

Jesus, she's only been in the city less than an hour, and already she was being confronted by... by... just, _confronted_ , okay?? She was just a girl who did his make-up that one time. She had hardly thought about it since.

_Liar,_ her mind interjects.

He definitely didn't remember her. She wasn't even sure if she _wanted_ him to remember her. They'd probably never see each other again. So there. Nothing to think about.

She gets broken out of her frown, deep in thought, to the sound of feet slapping against the ground and an overexcited, high-pitched: 'REY!'

Rey stands and turns, automatically breaking into a massive grin. She is immediately hit by a flying bundle of dark hair, that squeezes her around the waist until she gasps for air before releasing her with a squeal.

'Hey Rose!' she laughs out. 'Oh my gosh, i've missed you so much!'

'Rey! I'm so sorry i'm late to pick you up! Rehearsal ran on, and..' Rose shakes her head, waving the end of the sentence away with a hand in the air. She finally catches her breath, grinning up at her. 'How are you? You're finally here! To stay! With me! NYC, baby!' Rose punctuates every exclamation with a punch to Rey's arm.

'Ow! Stop!' Rey keeps laughing and holds an arm and a leg out in front of her in mock surrender.

'Yes. I'm here to stay.'

Rose grins and drags her off by the hand.

*********************************

Two hours later, they sit cross-legged on the floor of Rose's (now _their_ ) two bedroom apartment in Queens. It's almost uncanny, how much of a typical New York apartment it is. On Rose's broadway salary - and Rey's soon-to-be actor's income - they could afford a respectable sized-space. The walls are bare brick, and the windows are typical broad rectangles leading to a fire escape outside. The curtains are drawn, and Rey can faintly hear the distant muted sounds of sirens and traffic, but in the morning the sun would shine through the windows, making the space seem bright and airy. Takeout containers litter the coffee table next to where they sit in front of the L-shaped sofa, across from a wall-mounted flatscreen tv - currently linked up to Rey's Spotify. Boy Pablo's _Dance, Baby!_ plays softly in the background she sticks a fork into a plate of macaroni and cheese. Rose is chattering away, and Rey is more than happy to listen along and let her. Rose and Finn had always offered her an incredible amount of support in her life, and so she always tried to make sure they had no reason to resent her and tried to give back as much as she got.

She didn't know when it had happened - she had always been so convinced that she didn't need anyone (and part of her was uncomfortable at the prospect) - but she had recently realized that she honestly couldn't live life without them.

Rose tells her more about the area surrounding the apartment, and about her current show in the American Airlines theatre, and the actor that just kept forgetting his cue and losing his prop - a stuffed rabbit (' _I had to remind him twice in the space of five minutes Rey,_ ** _twice!'_** _)._ She tells her about how she had ended up on a crazy tinder date last week in Manhattan, with a guy who looked great in his pictures, but when he turned up he actually looked a little like Donald Trump Jr. Rose is halfway through telling her about how he asked her what she though of 'Ebenezer' as a baby name over dessert when Rey's phone starts to buzz on the table. She thinks it's Finn at first, calling to check on her, but then she sees the caller ID: 'Mr Director'. Ah, it's Rian, then.

'Sorry, Rose,' she interrupts her, mid-flow. 'It's work, i'm just gonna duck out to take this.'

'Oh sure, girl, go ahead! I was going to find us something to watch on Netflix right about now anyway...' Rose grins and trails off as she fumbles for the remote.

Rey smiles apologetically and scrambles to her feet, walking off down the corridor stretching from the main room.She opens and closes the door to her new bedroom, and sits on the white-clad twin bed, cross-legged. She answers the phone.

'Hello?'

'Rey! How are you?' Rian cheerfully greets her.

'I'm great, thank-you for asking! I've just touched down in NYC actually, i'm settling in. How _are_ you, how's shooting going for TLJ?' Rian was finishing up making his newest big-budget sci-fi film project upstate, given the working name 'The Lonely Janitor' in an attempt to hide the shooting location from fans.

'Aww, that's awesome! Yeah, we're getting there - not long to go now. Hey, listen, i'm sorry for calling so late, but I just wanted to quickly catch up - there's been quite a significant last minute change. I thought i'd call to let you know in person.'

Rey raises her eyebrows in surprise. 'Oh, is everything okay?'

Rian sighs. She frowns. Rian never sighs. 'Yes - it's just one of those things. So as you know, we've had Colin attached to Burn This for almost as long as we've been developing the new revival of the show.'

Rey remembers meeting her soon-to-be co-star briefly a few months ago over Skype - they hadn't had long to chat but he had seemed like a decent guy and he had had some good ideas for the characters.

'Well, two days ago I got a call from Disney - he's still under contract with them you know. Their legal department can be ruthless - _Mr Trevorrow must regretfully withdraw from your offer of employment due to breach of contract with The Walt Disney Company_...' he mimics in a stoic voice.

'I won't bore you with the details. Anyway, it's put everything in the lurch these past few days. God, I don't know what we'd have done with our rehearsal schedule if Lando hadn't suggested the perfect replacement so quickly! To be honest, he actually fits great, if not better, into where i'm thinking we take the character - i've actually just finished shooting with him today on TLJ.'

'Oh. Okay, well, no worries. I'm sorry to hear that, I hope there's no hard feelings between anyone.' Rey frowns. She had been looking forward to working with Colin.

'No, no. Just one of these things!' Rian sighs again.

'So, who's the replacement? I'm sure we could work together just as well?'

Rian says two words. Just two little words, three syllables. But they're still enough to make her stomach drop through the floor.

'Ben Solo.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Rose & Rey's Apartment](https://images.app.goo.gl/J6hs39SnbjKVkFaZA)
> 
> [Rey's Bedroom](https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.decoist.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2015%2F11%2FFrame-of-the-mirror-and-the-windows-bring-a-sense-of-homogeneity-to-the-bedroom.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.decoist.com%2Fbrick-wall-bedroom-ideas%2F&tbnid=SPJYksARAtLToM&vet=12ahUKEwiLsaHO-NnoAhVM0IUKHbwTDOYQMygQegUIARCFAg..i&docid=dI5mKIQZWTzOgM&w=900&h=600&q=new%20york%20apartment%20bare%20brick&client=safari&ved=2ahUKEwiLsaHO-NnoAhVM0IUKHbwTDOYQMygQegUIARCFAg)
> 
> [ _Dance, Baby!_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sC0IWVEq4o0)

**Author's Note:**

> Tell me EVERYTHING!! What did you think?


End file.
